Thanks to a 4-2 vote of the Town Council on June 3, there is a good chance for the Portsmouth, RI local wind turbine to spin again.  And if everything falls into place, Portsmouth will once again become part of People’s Power & Light/Mass Energy’s green power portfolio as early as September 2014.

In 2009, the wind turbine owned by the Town of Portsmouth became one of the sources in our portfolio through a 10-year contract with the Town for the purchase of its renewable energy certificates.  But in the spring of 2012, the turbine stopped running due to a problem with its gearbox. Repairs became complicated because the manufacturer of the turbine went bankrupt.

Fig1. - PP&L turbine tour at Portsmouth.

At the June 3 meeting of the Council, consultants to the Town presented two scenarios.  One in which the Town would decommission or tear down the turbine and spend approximately $2 million to pay off bonds used to finance the turbine’s initial purchase and construction.  The other scenario involves spending $885,000 to purchase and install a new gearbox and to make other improvements to the turbine.  With that investment, the consultants reported, the Town would have a good chance of breaking even in about nine years and making a profit thereafter. 

The rebuilding option was bolstered by an announcement that Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin has committed $250,000 to the project from the settlement of a federal Clean Air Act lawsuit.

Fig2. - Larry Chretien testifying at a public meeting.

At the meeting, Larry Chretien (executive director of People’s Power & Light/Mass Energy) also announced that the organization will extend the contract it has with the Town through 2024.  He said that the organization’s mission is to create demand for renewable energy and it understands that the Town Council needs as much certainty as possible in order to justify spending the $885,000.  His remarks were greeted warmly.

After hearing a solid plan for rebuilding the turbine and the commitments from the Attorney General and Larry, the Town Council voted 4-2 to continue working towards implementation of a recommissioning plan.  They reserved final judgment on the plan until they see details on the new gearbox warranty and the contract for operations and maintenance.

Recommissioning the Portsmouth wind turbine will not solve all of the harms of climate change or our struggling economy, but it is one of many, perhaps thousands of critical steps that we need to make. The power generated by the local wind turbine is emission free and will displace fossil fuels that cause global warming. Rhode Island, and especially the Town of Portsmouth, will also benefit from a local energy source that will keep capital here and support the creation of more jobs.